Down by Law (film)

Down by Law
Promotional poster
Directed byJim Jarmusch
Written byJim Jarmusch
Produced byAlan Kleinberg
StarringTom Waits
John Lurie
Roberto Benigni
Nicoletta Braschi
Ellen Barkin
CinematographyRobby Müller
Edited byMelody London
Music byJohn Lurie
Production
company
Black Snake
Distributed byIsland Pictures
Release date
  • September 20, 1986 (1986-09-20) (Limited)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Italian
Budget$453,600
Box office$1,435,668[1]

Down by Law is a 1986 American independent neo-beat noir comedy film.[2][better source needed] It was written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, and stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni.

The film centers on the arrest, incarceration, and escape from jail of three men. It discards jailbreak film conventions by focusing on the interaction between the convicts rather than on the mechanics of the escape. A key element in the film is Robby Müller's slow-moving camerawork, which captures the architecture of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou to which the cellmates escape.

  1. ^ "Down by Law". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ Down by Law. The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 25 July 2023.